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Dear YES Family,

This New Year – I must begin by thanking Reeta Roy, President MasterCard Foundation for her incredible compassion and commitment to fostering youth entrepreneurship, and her belief in YES. We owe 2011 to her!

We are grateful for the generous planning grant she bestowed upon us that allowed YES/us to develop our strategic plan. MasterCard Foundation support has brought YES to this exciting turning point in our history where we develop our next set of aspirations, as we begin the countdown to December 2012 which concludes our decade campaign.

Ringing in the New Year will not be complete without acknowledging Frannie Leautier, Executive Secretary, African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) – who fathoms deeply – the architectures that are needed to build capacity in African countries for getting young people off the street into productive work. It is with the innovative support of ACBF that YES is able to begin the implementation of our Strategic Plan.

We also thank Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Microsoft Unlimited Potential Program, Conscious Capitalism Institute and Whole Foods Market for working with us to invent and launch the YouthTrade initiative at the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit: Jump Start America 2011 which was held in Nov. 2011.
We are grateful to have reached 2012, the year that completes our tenacious and ambitious pursuit and effort to place youth employment powerfully on the global agenda. We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Through this journey we have built a low-touch, high-impact architecture together with our country networks and members worldwide. We are now ready more than ever before to shift our focus from agenda setting and seeding projects to developing in-country architecture through our 3 new initiatives:

1. YouthTrade Innovation Studio (US and Nigeria): provides a branded and focused access to markets for youth under the age of 35 years, co-founded with our dear friends Shubhro Sen, and Raj Sisodia leaders of the Conscious Capitalism Institute. In partnership with Whole Foods Market North Atlantic Region in the US; and in partnership with African Capacity Building Foundation and KIND in Nigeria. And with African Capacity Building Foundation and Synapse in Senegal.

2. Enterprise Studio: working with diverse in-country stakeholders to develop plans, host conversations, and pilot good ideas –getting our youth to dream and helping them follow their dreams. This project wil be piloted in Senegal – in partnership with African Capacity Building Foundation, CEPOD and Synapse.

3. Enterprise Generator: setting up in-country entrepreneurship education centers, organizing Youth Summits, offering one-year social entrepreneurship Intensives. This is being piloted in Mali in in partnership with African Capacity Building Foundation, CERCAP and the Ministry of Youth.

I urge you to nominate youth entrepreneurs under the age of 35 to participate in the YouthTrade Summit hosted by the Whole Foods Market in Boston on March 15 – 16, 2012 which will lead up to a full-scale launch on May 2021 of approved YouthTrade products in the New England Whole Foods Markets. The application is on-line on the YES website.

We invite you to join us on our new journey to transform the world through supporting youth entrepreneurs and their products. Let’s keep our dreams alive.

In Solidarity,
Poonam Ahluwalia
President YES.

The YES Campaign was initiated in 1998 by a small team at EDC led by the current President of YES Inc., and it took 4 years and 40 consultations held globally to formulate the goals, build global commitment, create a global alliance and prepare thematic documents to launch the decade Campaign in 2002. This is an iterative campaign where the process is not cast in black and white – its strength is learning by doing, being flexible and nimble and quickly taking action where needed. Over the last 5 years over 400 projects have been initiated and over 1 million youth have been touched by our work.YES convenes stakeholders at it global and regional summits, builds national self-reliant Networks led by youth, prepares documents, organizes pilot projects, disseminates information, builds partnerships with diverse stakeholders to address the pernicious issue of global youth unemployment.

In 2002 in Alexandria Egypt, the decade-long YES Campaign was launched – with the goal to work on youth employment issues as one of the most compelling problems the world was facing.

In 2003 in Hyderabad, India the Campaign moved to its next level of identifying sectors for employment and 5 sectors were identified and discussed – renewable energy, water and sanitation, ICT, rural development, and HIV/AIDS.

In 2004 in Veracruz, Mexico, the YES Campaign was ready to showcase the work of its 70 Country Networks juxtaposed with existing expert agencies work and that of NGOs and governments and it was a Summit featuring action and ready to move beyond conversation and debate.

In 2005 in Asuncion, Paraguay the First Regional Youth Employment Encounter, was hosted by YES Latin America and the Government of Paraguay, and the YES Paraguay Network in partnership with UNDP, World Bank, UNFPA. The purpose of this Encounter was to understand the UN MDGs and how they could be fulfilled in the LAC region through a youth employment and entrepreneurship led approach.

In 2006 YES Kenya, Nairobi focused on Creating Markets…Unleashing Entrepreneurship, identifying markets at the Bottom of the Pyramid, markets in eco-entrepreneurship, building trade capacity, attracting foreign direct investment, building an entrepreneurial culture, capacity building through the YES Academy and the YES Leadership Institute. The YES Fund – a Global Fund for the Youth Entrepreneurship was designed and launched at the Clinton Global Initiative 2006 with the support of a small grant from Microsoft.

In 2007, after 9 years of incubation at EDC, Poonam Ahluwalia Founded YES Inc, as an independent non-profit

In 2008 YES Azerbaijan, Baku addressed the issue of Enterprise Solutions to Poverty Eradication. We know that there are not enough jobs in the private or public sectors and we have to create markets and unleash entrepreneurship.

In 2009 together with our partner Tällberg Foundation we launched Rework the World initiative which will culminate in the 5th Global YES Summit 2010

The mission of YES is to promote youth entrepreneurship and employment through engaging youth leadership. YES was officially launched in 2002 at our first summit on youth employment in Alexandria, Egypt that brought together more than 1,600 youth leaders, ministers, senior government officials, and business leaders, UN agencies, NGOs and others from some 120 countries. Former President Bill Clinton and Egyptian First Lady Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak served as honorary co-chairs. The YES initiative was created four years earlier (1998) under the auspices of the Education Development Center, an international non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing learning and promoting health in countries throughout the world.

Our primary objectives are:>>Agenda Setting: Focus attention on the serious issue of global youth poverty and the need for self-sustaining employment generation through consultations and global summits.

>>Youth Employment/Entrepreneurship: Promote in-country youth employment and entrepreneurship to address key development challenges through the creation of YES Networks.

>>Capacity Building: Develop capacity of youth to lead in-country youth employment initiatives though project planning and implementation services.

>>Partnerships: Build in-country coalitions to develop national strategies to address youth unemployment.

As part of that effort, we created and support youth employment networks under the YES umbrella in more than 50 countries, including USA, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Somalia. YES, in fact, was the catalyst for the government of Kenya to create a Ministry of Youth for the first time, and establish a Youth Enterprise Fund. In Nigeria, policies developed by local YES leaders involving youth leadership and entrepreneurship were adopted by that country’s Senate.

More than 1 billion jobs (employment opportunities) need to be created between now (1998) and 2010 to accommodate young workers entering the labor force and reduce unemployment (UNFPA). If employment (wage or self) can be found for these young people in the labor market, the “workforce bulge” then can be the basis for more investment, greater labor productivity and rapid economic development. This will generate revenues for social investments like health, education and social security, to meet the needs of both old and young and secure the basis for future development.There are one billion young people (15-24 years old), eighty-five percent in developing countries, in the labor market with few skills, and even fewer opportunities for productive work. Nearly three billion people-that is half the world’s population are under the age of 25. They are entering the different sectors of society in large number, putting immense pressures on governments around the world to wake up and face new challenges. These include the increased need for jobs and livelihoods, the growing need for health care and education, increasing the stress on the environment. The social and economic disparities continue to grow, increasing the number of people living below the poverty line each day. Today, 1.3 billion people survive on less than a dollar a day and 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day. High levels of unemployment and rapidly deteriorating standards of living are resulting in destructive social unrest and dangerous levels of tension. This is most evident amongst the youth who make up 50 percent of the world’s population. Ironically, all of these challenges are exploding at a time when humanity is more prosperous that ever. The knowledge base and connectivity to create opportunities for sustainable livelihoods for the world’s youth are available. The challenge is to raise awareness and build an adequate understanding of the issues we face and collaborate in promoting youth employment. It is essential that knowledge is disseminated, capacity is built, and the will generated to resolve this crisis, and build opportunities for youth employment.

Globalization

Access to quality education, decent employment opportunities and training, and a life without poverty is to a large extent determined by the ability of national communities to participate in the global economy. There are many youth (defined as those between the ages of 15 and 24 by statistical convention) who remain outside the realm of global economic activity and are being left behind; within and between countries, the income gap is widening (World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, 2004). About 2 billion people are not benefiting from globalization, especially in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, and the former Soviet Union (World Bank, 2004). A number of countries in these regions have experienced declining economic growth, employment loss, and persistently low incomes, poor education, and inadequate health provisions (United Nations, 2004b; Collier and Dollar, 2001).

Globalization has brought about substantial changes in the job market which young people, as newcomers may be particularly sensitive. There are still many youth, especially in developing countries, who lack the economic power to benefit from the opportunities globalization has to offer. They are left out of the modernization process and are simultaneously finding it more difficult to achieve independent, sustaining livelihoods.

Limited Youth Employment Opportunities

Labor force participation rates among young people decreased by almost 4% between 1993 and 2003, much of which can be attributed to high overall unemployment rates and the fact that many youth have given up hope and dropped out of the labor market. Figures published by the International Labor Organization (ILO) indicate that global youth unemployment increased from 11.7% in 1993 to an all-time high of 14.4% in 2003. While some of the decline in labor force participation can be attributed to an increased number of youth in secondary and tertiary education, labor markets in many countries are presently unable to accommodate the expanding pools of skilled young graduates. In a number of settings, this can be attributed to a failure to coordinate education provision with labor market needs. It is also fundamentally linked to the fact that a very large number of youth are now coming of age and are trying to find work (51% of the combined population of developing and least developed countries are below the age of 25, and 20% are 15-24 years old (UN, 2005b)).

In the absence of opportunities in the formal labor market, many young people resort to “forced entrepreneurship” and self-employment in the informal economy, often working for low pay under hazardous conditions with uncertain prospects for the future. Together, these factors can cause disillusionment and alienation among younger workers. Additionally, there has been increasing concern among young policymakers that the frustrations accompanying long-term unemployment among groups of urban youth may feed political and ideological unrest and provoke violence (Commission for Africa, 2005).

Initial Responses

Over the past decade, the international community has strengthened its commitment to addressing youth employment issues. In 1995, governments called for special attention to youth unemployment in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and Program of Action of the World Summit for Social Development (United Nations, 1995). Six years later, youth organizations adopted the Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy at the fourth session of the World Youth Forum of United Nations System (Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy, 2001). The United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly in 2000, reflects the commitment of heads of state and governments to develop and implement strategies that give young people real opportunities to find decent and productive work. The objective was subsequently integrated into the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000.

The eighth Goal, which relates to developing a global partnership for development, explicitly refers to creating employment opportunities for young people. The Youth Employment Network (YEN), comprising the United Nations, ILO, and World Bank as core partners, was established following the Millennium Summit to initiate action on the ground, with the result that the youth employment issue has gained momentum at the national level. Recommendations based on four global policy priorities – employability, entrepreneurship, equal opportunities, and employment creation – were issued in 2001 by a team of youth employment experts appointed by the Secretary-General. The YEN is now supporting the efforts of 13 lead countries committed to the development and execution of strategies for youth employment, as well as those of a number of other countries currently at various stages in the planning or implementation of national action plans in this context. YEN’s focus continues to be on policy-making initiatives rather than developing in-country programming to support youth on-the-ground.

At the national level, developing countries have outlined youth employment strategies focusing on youth entrepreneurship training, micro-credit schemes, the development of vocational training and career guidance services, youth leadership training, youth-targeted labor intensive programs, and the acquisition of ICT skills. In addition, several national human development reports have been devoted entirely to youth, and others have included sections dedicated to national youth employment initiatives and policies.

Although many governments encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment among youth at the conceptual level, few initiatives specifically targeted at youth have emerged on the ground around the globe. A number of NGOs have set up programs to enhance life skills, provide job training, and develop some entrepreneurial skills among youth, but these efforts lacked the scale and resources to address the depth of the youth employment problem. As a result, there is a real need, at both the national and international levels, to scale up the successful aspects of these initiatives to have a real impact.

The YES Campaign is a civil society response to the enormous global challenge of youth unemployment. The Campaign was formally launched at the first Youth Employment Summit in September 2002, in Alexandria, Egypt. Co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, this first Summit was attended by over 1600 delegates from 120 countries. Since then, there have been four  additional Summits – Mexico 2004, Kenya 2006, Azerbaijan 2008 and Sweden 2010 each attended by about two thousands of delegates from around the world.In the eight years since its launch, the YES Campaign has overseen the formation of youth-led networks in over 50 countries. These networks liaise with stakeholder groups (government, business, academics, NGOs, and UN agencies) to develop programs and policies for promoting youth employment. Through the networks, the YES Campaign plans, implements, and evaluates projects around the globe, keeping youth at the center of its efforts.

The YES Campaign:

• Views youth as true partners in development, rather than as beneficiaries;
• Encourages youth to organize multi-stakeholder, country networks;
• Builds the commitment of world leaders and institutions to confront the challenge of youth unemployment by developing strategic partnerships;
• Transforms that leadership commitment into tangible investments in innovative, employment-generation strategies;
• Maintains a web-based, Global Knowledge Resource – a free platform that disseminates labor market knowledge and best practices for individuals, networks, and partners through a range of traditional and new-media technologies (print, conferences, e-groups, CD ROM, and video); and
• Provides youth with opportunities to build leadership, management and entrepreneurial skills in the context of sustainable development.

By enlisting youth participation in creating viable employment alternatives in their home countries, the YES Campaign has validated the concept that young people, if given access to the right resources, can effectively craft their own opportunities for advancement and growth in labor markets while simultaneously addressing development needs.

Listed below is a partial list of accomplishments of the YES Campaign through September 2006.

Infrastructure and Capacity Building

The YES Campaign has:

• Hosted the world’s first three Global Youth Employment Summits: Alexandria, Egypt in 2002 (participation of 100 government ministries and 2,000 civil society organizations); Veracruz, Mexico in 2004 (1,500 delegates including senior government ministers); and Nairobi, Kenya 2006 (2000 delegates including Ministers and senior government officials);
• Established over 80 youth-led country networks since 2002 to promote policy, programs, and activities, including 7 networks in conflict zones;
• Appointed 6 regional coordinators including a global manager to oversee network activities and communicate “best practices” when identifying and mobilizing resources;
• Organized 65 national consultations to bring networks together with diverse stakeholders (government, private sector, NGOs, and educational institutions);>
• Hosted the first Asian Regional Forum for Youth Employment in Hyderabad, India, in 2003 with 48 countries represented and 1,000 delegates.

Programs and Employment Creation

The YES Campaign has:

• Overseen 400 locally initiated and managed programs throughout its network, 150 of which were launched since 2004 and are focused primarily on the five development sectors targeted by the Campaign;
• Focused 60 percent of programs on education and capacity-building, 30 percent on employment creation, and 10 percent on policy-making and awareness-building;
• Begun the process of launching the YES Academy, the first international institution for youth employment project development based in Hyderabad, India;
• Developed a global database of effective youth employment resources and toolkits.

Partners and Funders

The YES Campaign has:

• Formalized pro-youth government policies in 60 percent of existing networks;
• Established high-level partnerships with UN agencies in 30 countries and with 25 major international organizations (including the World Bank, EC, GEF, OECD, IADB, OAS, USAID, SIDA, SDC, ILO);
• Secured support from large private sector corporations including Levi-Strauss and Microsoft, as well as from international donor agencies including Swiss Development Corporation;
• Leveraged an average of $5 million per continent to support network activities and over $2.5 million from the Government of India alone.

The YES Campaign works on behalf of millions of young people in the world who are clamoring for a better future and an opportunity for productive work. Young people are cognizant of the inequities of the global system, and are susceptible to association with the negative forces in their communities if help does not come their way. This initiative offers youth a chance to participate in a global campaign to make a difference in their countries and communities.

The YES Inc. became an independent non-profit – January 1, 2007.

The core of YES, is the more than 400 projects that have been developed and implemented by young people, most living in poor developing nations, under the YES umbrella.  Some examples:

Mexico Business incubators for rural and urban settings: Pioneered by YES Mexico/Foundation E, this approach uses existing local institutions to establish new kinds of business incubators designed to support rural and urban entrepreneurs with training, access to finance and innovative Business Development Services.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):  We are establishing a microcredit and loan program to provide start-up capital for a wide range of green entrepreneurial enterprises and to provide mentoring and tutoring services for youth (between 14 and 35) from poor and homeless families.

Uganda:  We have trained out-of-school youth in business and management skills.  The YES team in Uganda developed a model saving and credit cooperative concept but, with no collateral, has had difficulty obtaining loans.  Plans are underway to develop entrepreneurship programs in the field of agro-forestry.

Kenya:  In partnership with UN Habitat is building a movement of Green teams across Africa working with tomorrow’s value chains and supported by Green academies offering individualized business development services.  This project is being led by YES Kenya and serves Kenya, Uganda, Senegal and Rwanda.

India:  A YES-Drishtee initiative provides job training and placement support in entry level jobs in the private sector to 7,000 youth.  Additional community based skill development centers are being set up and will target some 500,000 youth.

 

Among other major achievements of YES:

Global Summits: Held 5 international summits in Egypt, Mexico, Kenya, Azerbaijan, Sweden and regional summits in India, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Brazil.  More than 20,000 stakeholders attended the summits, including cabinet ministers and heads of state.

Projects: Supported 55 YES Networks with the implementation of more than 400 youth employment projects impacting some one million young people, according to an independent study by the New Sector Alliance.

Knowledge Resource: Compiled more than 1,000 on-line resource documents on best practices and tools for youth employment.

Publications: Commissioned 150 original publications on youth employment.

Funding: Over $84 million USD, have been raised by YES Networks since 2007, out of this total $76 million have been raised by YES Mexico.  YES has linked our Networks with funding support from government agencies and foundations that have resulted in projects in such areas as renewable energy, technical training for rural youth, and social entrepreneurship.

Reach: Over 1 million youth by 2006, independent study conducted by New Sector Alliance of Boston.